It's worth noting the limitations from the start: it will never challenge the big three annual motor shows - Detroit, Paris/Frankfurt and Tokyo. Michael McAleer reports.
But that's not really the point. This weekend's Motorshow 2004 represents the best attempt in more than decade to meet the appetite of Irish car fans for some form of show.
In the early 1990s the RDS hosted a fully-blown motor show with attendance reportedly upwards of 100,000 and fully supported by the industry. However public interest wasn't enough to save it - it died off, largely because Irish distributors were unwilling to foot the growing bills for hosting the stands.
There have been unfounded rumours of a return, but now, happily, the metal has arrived and is parked at the RDS.
According to organiser Nick Orton of Pioneer Networks, it's expected to attract between 20,000 and 40,000 visitors over the weekend. The company, which also organises Belfast's Sportscar Show along with several other car-related shows in Britain - among them the Fast & Furious modified show - has managed to pull it all together, even without the full support of the industry.
"It's all par of the course for a first show," says Orton, whose firm has experience organising health and industry shows at venues such as Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.
"It's a chicken-and-egg situation. They all wait and see who else is showing before committing to anything.
"Like everything that's new, some manufacturers have been reluctant to take stands themselves but are instead represented by their top garages who will be displaying all their cars anyway."
Next year he expects manufacturers will be more inclined to take direct involvement.
Among brands represented by dealers are Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Opel, Skoda and Honda.
But car shows are not really about the mainstream. They are about seeing, touching and perhaps even sitting in, cars that you don't come across in the supermarket car park.
For instance, this weekend sees the introduction of the Aston Martin DB9 Coupé to Irish fans, along with a Vanquish.
There will also be a couple of Porsches, a Ferrari 360, several TVRs - and the Irish launch for the Lotus Elise 114R.
Kit cars also feature strongly at the show, perhaps making up for missing brands such as BMW (yet again choosing to opt out of a car show), Audi, VW and Fiat.
Perhaps the largest contingent at the show is Jaguar, with an estimated €15 million of classic and vintage cars on show courtesy of the Daimler Jaguar Trust in Britain.
Sideshow entertainment includes a 4X4 exhibition where the all-terrain vehicles will be put through their paces - and James Bond stunt driver Terry Grant will show off his talents.
Undoubtedly those with experience of the big international shows will find plenty of faults. But, even before the doors open, organisers deserve credit for getting the show on the road.
TIMES:
Friday 10am- 10pm
Saturday 10am-9pm
Sunday 9am to 6pm
TICKETS:
€15; under-12s €5; family tickets (two adults and four children) €35; under-4s free